Mariner, Miami-Lima, Jan.17, 2017

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wendy, does the food taste salty or are passengers just experiencing water retention? I always swell up when onboard a ship - even if the food tastes normal.

The latter. Some things do taste salty obviously but not most. I generally avoid most salt at home.

 

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[Travelcat2]

The latter. Some things do taste salty obviously but not most. I generally avoid most salt at home.

 

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Wow - what a quick response! I do not salt anything and did find a few items on the Explorer to be salty (not many - just a few). IMO, the Executive Chef should take this into consideration. There is enough salt in the air without adding to it in the food. If someone wants extra salt, it is available to them.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Wow - what a quick response! I do not salt anything and did find a few items on the Explorer to be salty (not many - just a few). IMO, the Executive Chef should take this into consideration. There is enough salt in the air without adding to it in the food. If someone wants extra salt, it is available to them.

Yes, mostly agree. I realized this morning that even the scrambled eggs in Verandah are salted--people should be able to salt their own eggs. Now I'll get my eggs cooked fresh, sans salt.

 

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[PaulaJK]

I do use some salt in cooking, although I try to watch the amount.

We found several of the items on Explorer to be very salty & a few

so salty that we left them. This was a first for us in cruising.

[Suite Travels]

I wonder if salt air makes you bloat and cause water retention.

[RachelG]

I do try to stay away from most of the soups due to salt content. Have not really noticed other food being terribly salty, but I too tend to retain fluid while cruising and a few days afterward. And this is not only on regent.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I wonder if salt air makes you bloat and cause water retention.

No, I doubt it.

 

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[UUNetBill]

No, I doubt it.

 

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Dangit, Wendy, that was going to be my excuse this spring.

[hamasgirl]

I too started experiencing swollen ankles and even swollen calves on my last couple of cruises. It is caused not only by saltier prepared foods on board but also by the way water is treated on board. Even though I tried to only drink bottled water on board there is no way to avoid it in the coffee (have to have it), tea, iced tea, non-fresh squeezed juices and ice cubes etc. So I asked my doctor for help. The key is to elevate your ankles...and in my case my calves too...above your heart for about 20 - 30 minutes per day. Works like a charm...no more swollen anything and I got the spring back in my step! What I do is lay on my back on the couch in the suite with my butt up against the side arm of the couch and then raise my legs straight up and rest them against the wall. It was a bit wonky to do initially for a lady who is closer to 70 than 60 but by moving slowly I got the hang of it. And the results are amazing. Give it a try for a few days...you can't skip!...and see if you notice the same results that I did.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I too started experiencing swollen ankles and even swollen calves on my last couple of cruises. It is caused not only by saltier prepared foods on board but also by the way water is treated on board. Even though I tried to only drink bottled water on board there is no way to avoid it in the coffee (have to have it), tea, iced tea, non-fresh squeezed juices and ice cubes etc. So I asked my doctor for help. The key is to elevate your ankles...and in my case my calves too...above your heart for about 20 - 30 minutes per day. Works like a charm...no more swollen anything and I got the spring back in my step! What I do is lay on my back on the couch in the suite with my butt up against the side arm of the couch and then raise my legs straight up and rest them against the wall. It was a bit wonky to do initially for a lady who is closer to 70 than 60 but by moving slowly I got the hang of it. And the results are amazing. Give it a try for a few days...you can't skip!...and see if you notice the same results that I did.

Thanks, I'll try it. I do put my feet up, but not usually above my heart!

 

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[Wendy The Wanderer]

Sorry not to post more but having too much fun. Plus I'm limited to my thumbs, lol.

 

Last day, sailing into Callao. Packing, ugh. Sure am glad we're not going straight home. 4 nights in Lima then back to Ecuador for a week.

 

This has been a blast. One of our best ever. And we love Mariner! Want to complete the circuit and do Lima to BA!

[poss]

Really glad that you've so thoroughly grooved on your cruise. We've never been to SA, but sure share your love of Mariner -- couldn't wish for more. (OK, definitely more cruising, but Mariner floats our boat fine and dandy!) Enjoy the rest of your vacation, Wendy and David!

[liptastic]

Wendy it's great to hear you have enjoyed your cruise so much. You have posted when you can and that's very good of you. Enjoy the rest of your trip. Jean.

[Silver Sweethearts]

We found several of the items on Explorer to be very salty & a few so salty that we left them. This was a first for us in cruising.

 

Our ankles were just fine, but the amount of salt used was often overpowering. Just as an observation and not to start more discussion, when we obviously left food because of this, none of the servers asked what was wrong with the dish and how it may be improved - as we have experienced on Seabourn.

[RachelG]

Glad you are having a wonderful time, Wendy. We did this cruise several years ago, and loved it.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Back on land and having a great time in Lima. This city so far has surpassed expectations. Using private guide and so far their service is wonderful. Nice moderate hotel in Miraflores.

 

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[Saildude16]

We were on the Explorer docked next to the Mariner in Cartagena in late Jan. I asked at Reception if we could tour the Mariner and was told the ship was under "Code Red" due to GI problems with passengers. As a result nobody from the Explorer was allowed on board the Mariner for fear these visitors could bring the illness back to Explorer. Later I was told the same thing by a senior service staff member.

 

However, since there's nothing on this thread alluding to "Code Red" I wonder what the actual story is?

 

Some time back(Year ago?) I seem to remember the Mariner had a Code Red while rounding SA. The info above seemed to "dove tail" with previous problems.

 

Not trying to start an unfounded rumor: just conveying what was said to me by 2 Explorer staff members.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yes, there was. But it was soft-pedalled as just precautionary. Salt and pepper shakers removed from tables, lots of emphasis on hand sanitation. Elbow bumping. But no biggie. I heard on the last day from a friend who had been a regular visitor to the doctor that there were something like a dozen affected. There was also a respiratory bug going around.

 

More of note were the injuries. Our friend slipped on a rainforest walk and gouged a piece out of her leg. Another fell off a bicycle. A 4x4 rolled over with multiple injured, including one man with broken ribs who spent several days in hospital before rejoining in Cartagena. Several ambulances plus one evac at sea (close to port so done by boat.)

[Travelcat2]

Wow - what a lot of injuries -- it makes me rethink a couple of 4 x 4 excursions that we've been planning to book next month.

 

Interesting news about gastroenteritis on the Mariner. This seems to be the time of the year for it. Thankfully it did not spread further.

 

Thanks for the updates.

[ronrick1943]

Wow - what a lot of injuries -- it makes me rethink a couple of 4 x 4 excursions that we've been planning to book next month.

Interesting news about gastroenteritis on the Mariner. This seems to be the time of the year for it. Thankfully it did not spread further.

Thanks for the updates.

 

Yes when think about it, the rules and safety codes are not the same in other places like the US. I was going to do the same-but maybe not now.

Rick

[Travelcat2]

Yes when think about it, the rules and safety codes are not the same in other places like the US. I was going to do the same-but maybe not now.

Rick

 

This is the is the first time that I've read about multiple accidents (especially the one related to a 4 x 4). I believe that passengers have to sign a waiver before taking these excursions. We still plan on taking two 4 x 4 excursions on our 25 night Mariner cruise to the Amazon (the excursions take place in the Caribbean). If I let reports dissuade me, I wouldn't get on a bus since there are more accidents involving buses - both in and out of the U.S.

 

Another thing unique to the U.S. (that hadn't paid much attention to in the past) is preparing the ship to enter U.S. waters. One "normal"(?) thing that is done before arriving in U.S. waters is to roll the silverware into the napkins rather than lay them out by the plates (haven't figured that one out - someone obviously has to touch the silverware to get them into the napkins in the first place). There were several subtle (and strange) things going on prior to reaching the U.S. I mention this as I personally prefer not to sail in U.S. waters (or too fly U.S. based airplanes - I'm just a bit weird in this respect).

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Gastro can happen any time I believe.

 

As for safety codes, yes, they vary. These accidents happened in the islands, but could have happened anywhere. Yes waivers involved in some cases but not all. My friend didn't for her rainforest walk. First thing they did was breathalyze since they were liable. Her medical visits were covered by R.

[ronrick1943]

This is the is the first time that I've read about multiple accidents (especially the one related to a 4 x 4). I believe that passengers have to sign a waiver before taking these excursions. We still plan on taking two 4 x 4 excursions on our 25 night Mariner cruise to the Amazon (the excursions take place in the Caribbean). If I let reports dissuade me, I wouldn't get on a bus since there are more accidents involving buses - both in and out of the U.S.

 

 

Yes your right, I guess we wouldn't be flying or cruising every time something happened. We'll be booking the 4x4 after all. Thanks, Rick

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Okay, we're home and the laundry's done. Not sure what's up with the Review submission mechanism on the new boards, so here's the review I just wrote for our cruise, in case the review never appears formally:

 

We chose this cruise for several reasons: 1. we hadn't been on Regent for over four years and felt it was time to give them another try; 2. we wanted to see the Panama canal; 3. it was an expensive way to get to South America to visit our friends in Ecuador.

 

We are Gold on Regent, and this was our 12th cruise with them; we go back to 2000 on the Paul Gauguin. We had sailed on that ship, plus the Diamond, Navigator and Voyager but never Mariner. This was also the longest cruise we had done, 18 days.

 

In case you choose a similar itinerary in this time frame, be aware that the climate is HOT. Places like Colombia particularly, Panama, and down to Lima the weather was very hot and humid. It was tough to be out on deck at times, and shade was at a premium. More about excursions later. But just a heads-up about this. Next time I'll try the more temperate part of SA or I'll go in their winter rather than their summer (although it doesn't matter for Panama and Colombia I think.)

 

Loved the ship. Friends had said that the public spaces on Mariner were the best, and being a lover of Voyager it was hard to understand that, but it's true. There are tons of lounges and meeting places around the ship. The Coffee Connection is very nice, the Observation Lounge too, although not sure I liked it any better than Voyager. Compass Rose was way better than any of the other ships--it's kind of broken up, i.e., it has the feel of several smaller rooms, and I believe that may be why the acoustics are way better. Just overall a comfortable place.

 

The tradeoff is that the cabins are smaller. We had an H GTY, which meant we didn't get a cabin assignment until a few days before the cruise. We ended up in 829, which is an accessible cabin. I liked it, and would book it again. It was quite square in shape, and had no walk-in closet, which made it feel very roomy, but lots of storage space. Only downside is the bathroom shower--no enclosure to allow a wheelchair to wheel in, no cabins below the sink for the same reason--showers entailed laying out towels on the floor around the shower to prevent daily floods. They do need to replace the safes, but I believe they will be during the next refurb.

 

The cuisine was up to standard for Regent. We particularly thought that the food in CR was excellent. Also really enjoyed Signatures (goodbye Signatures!). Prime 7 was fine too, although the one meal that we ate there really didn't stand out. Sette Mare was okay, but the concept needs a complete overhaul as does the menu--the Italian classics were underwhelming, to be kind.

 

During the day we generally ate in La Verandah, although once or twice we went to CR. The buffet food was as expected, very nice usually. I only got to sit outside once, it was usually packed out there, despite the heat most days.

 

The Jean Ann Ryan song and dance troupe is on their way out on Regent, and I believe Mariner may be their last ship, destined to be replaced this spring. Despite the lovely leggy girl dancers, I say, "good riddance". The choreography and production values of the one or two shows that I saw were cringe-worthy. Very dated, much too glitzy and faux glamorous for such a small ship. Saw some good solo performances, although we didn't make many shows I admit.

 

We also very much enjoyed the lounge pianist, Ross. Made friends with him, even had dinner with him one night. He was in charge also of the music trivia, in which we participated, and had loads of fun. He played in the Observation Lounge evenings so that became our hang-out of choice before dinner.

 

We had a number of sea days spread out over the cruise, and the activities on board were excellent. Always something interesting to do. This included Terry Breen onboard for the entire circumnavigation of South America, doing enrichment lectures about the canal and the South American countries we were visiting. She is a fabulous lady and her presence certainly enhanced this cruise for us. We got into Trivia and ended up playing in the same group of 6 for the entire cruise--made friends and had a ball.

 

Service as always was excellent. The staff more than ever worked very hard at memorizing our names. Perhaps this was because of the length of the cruise, but we were only on for the first segment. Even the Destination Services staff were excellent, really great, helpful and friendly.

 

We did have a Code Red for a while. It was handled very discreetly and we weren't inconvenienced at all. Salt and pepper shakers, cream pitchers were removed from tables, etc. Hand sanitizing coming back to the ship was mandatory and encouraged everywhere. I think this kind of thing is probably endemic in certain tropical destinations.

 

We stopped at some nice islands. Some I didn't get to see much of because I was in the water (i.e., snorkeling.) St. Bart's was one--snorkelling was disappointing, although I was glad to just be in the water--island didn't seem very welcoming to cruisers--it's a "high end" island where celebs hang out. Martinique was nice, although I believe this is where some pax came to grief on excursions--one of our trivia buddies fell on a hiking trail and gouged a piece out of her leg--that curtailed her water plans for the rest of the trip; another group in a 4x4 rolled over and there were multiple wounds including a hospitalization (he rejoined the cruise later.) We did the botanical garden which was lovely. Grenada next, is the "spice island". I indeed bought spices there, and our tour was great, but the island itself is very, very poor, one big rainforest.

 

Bonaire was probably my favourite, although I spent my time on the water, in a junk out to Klein Bonaire, which is a desert island off the coast, protected, with some very good snorkelling. So I was happy, happy. I'd go back. Aruba seemed very nice too, although we did the submarine trip down to see the reefs and didn't see much of the island. But that excursion was a big highlight for us--made me wish I had learned to scuba years ago.

 

Then on to two stops in Colombia. Colombia is recovering from its bad years, and it shows, but Santa Marta has a ways to go--they don't seem to have the tourist infrastructure they need yet. Tour guides were ill-trained and the tour we went to the (beautiful) Tayrona National Park was disorganized and chaotic. The park itself is stunning, but our guide did not pay attention to the age of the participants, and the logistics of the trip were badly planned and executed. Our group ended up insisting to return to the ship, with our guide almost in tears. Our stop in Cartagena went better, the city is really beautiful. Lots of income disparity, however; huge luxury condos overlooking the ocean, gee I wonder where that money came from, eh? Just remember again, Colombia is very, very hot.

 

Then on to the Canal. With Terry preparing us with lectures about the building of the canal and the logistics of how it works. The day passing through the canal was the highlight of the cruise. It was spectacular. Also very hot. But the Observation Lounge was nice and cool. So people milled about the open decks all day, oohing and ahhing. So glad we did this. But again, it's HOT in January (probably all the time.)

 

So then on down the Pacific coast of SA. We stopped at the small Ecuadorean city of Manta. It's a major tuna fishing port, and we watched frozen bonita being emptied out of one trawler into trucks, all day long. Huge amount of fish. The weather was really bad in Manta, it poured rain all morning. People mostly went on excursions that included the town of Montecristi, where one can buy the genuine, original Panama Hat (Montecristi hat really.) Long story, but they were never made in Panama. We stayed on the ship and entertained our friends who live in Manta, a terrific thing to do if you plan it well in advance. Since we spent a week in this area later on our trip, I'll say, go to Montecristi and spend the day just wandering the shops there. It's definitely third-world, but delightful really. David brought home a hat, which he bought from a little shop, a wholesaler, not a big place, so he got a great price on a fine, fine one (so-called "superfino" quality). I bought a beautiful alpaca shawl for $10--I could have brought home beautiful blankets and hammocks as well, and jewellery. Manta itself is a gritty, dusty place, lots of construction going on recovering from the major earthquake they had last year. We really enjoyed our week there, but spent most of it on a beach south of the city.

 

Then on to Guayaquil, where the ship docks south of the city, in the industrial port. This city is very large. It's the gateway to the Galapagos. We went on a long excursion to a cocoa plantation, a tropical flower plantation, and an orchid greenhouse/store. The tropical flower stop was the best, because we had the owner doing a great narrative and sales pitch--our guide was useless on this trip. He didn't pay attention to the group as a whole, concentrating on the few closest to him. So we didn't see Guayaquil on this stop, although we did stay downtown later on our trip and it was interesting, and definitely different.

 

Trujillo was our next visit (port of Salaverry). Went to several fascinating ancient ruins. Started our education onboard with Terry doing lectures about pre-columbian civilizations. Up in the north it was all pre-Inca, and all made of adobe. Amazing stuff really. We had lunch at a hacienda where they raise and show the famous Paso horses. We had a nice outdoor meal while watching the horses and human dancers perform. A very good day, although we did not climb to the top of the Temple of the Moon because by then it was afternoon and, again, very, very HOT. Trujillo also seemed fairly poor, and the roads were covered with litter. This was noteworthy because when we got to Lima, there was NONE.

 

So, on to Lima for our last day on the ship. Another excursion to two ancient ruins, right in the middle of the Miraflores district where we stayed after disembarking. This is the area of the city where most tourists stay, and I highly recommend it. It's safe, there's lots of nice restaurants and people-watching. Just make sure you pick a hotel with air conditioning, if you're there in their summer--it's HOT. Getting around Lima is a pain--it's one of those giant cities with many districts, quite distinct from each other. But no subway system, nor commuter trains, with one big highway along the coast, usually absolutely snarled with traffic. Not an easy place to get around--I recommend private guides if you stay. We had a memorable time, loved it. I'd go back to Lima, but probably in the spring or fall.

 

We were warned by our guides that the huge port of Callao (pronounced "kai-yow") would be chaotic, and it was. But it went quite smoothly. We were independent so we were shuttled through the industrial port to the main gate where all of the taxis and pre-organized drives were waiting. Within minutes we were on our way to Miraflores for the beginning of our stay in fabulous Lima. Loved Lima, can you tell?

 

I'm hooked on Regent again, I can tell you. And in love with Mariner. Would love to do the remaining segments of SA that we haven't done--Lima to Rio or part of it, like Valparaiso to Buenos Aires. This was our second trip to South America and it is incredibly fascinating, but I want to try to temperature portion of the climate next time!

[Travelcat2]

Thanks for the informative and balanced review of your Mariner voyage. So far, South America is not one of our favorite places to visit, however, we will be doing the Amazon on the Mariner later this year and the Explorer in 2019 (hoping that passengers on the Explorer will not get norovirus but it is a concern).

 

I find your thoughts about CR interesting. In the past, we didn't like the fact that the dining venue was not as open as on the Navigator or Voyager. Now that we've sailed on the Explorer, we appreciate that it is broken up.

 

We loved Manta when we were there and were saddened by the devastation caused by the earthquake. Passengers used to be able to ride a bus with open sides and a band on the roof on the way from the port to Manta. We were given noise makers (like on New Year's Eve) and made noise all the way there while people come out of their homes to wave and smile at us. It was a highlight of our trip.

 

Good to hear that you are "hooked on Regent" again:D. I think that you will enjoy the refurbished ships (particularly La Veranda - there is a great improvement there). And, if you like lovely public spaces, the Explorer would be a perfect fit.